Tuesday a big day for local teams

Cañon City baseball, soccer, Florence soccer all to play meaningful games

By BRANDON HOPPER hopperb@ canoncitydailyrecord.com

Posted:
04/29/2013 01:58:30 PM MDT

Senior Austin Douglas and the Cañon City Tigers will host Pueblo East at 4 p.m. today at Justin Field. Both teams are locked into a race for a playoff spot. (Jeff Shane/Daily Record)

Tigers look for repeat of early season victory

It doesn't matter how they get them at this point in the season, the Cañon City Tigers baseball team needs wins.

Locked in a battle with three teams including Pueblo East, the Tigers will host the Eagles at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Justin Field.

The Tigers beat the Eagles 18-3 earlier this season in what was easily Cañon City's best game offensively.

The top three South-Central League teams qualify for the 32-team state tournament. Pueblo West clinched the title with its win Saturday against Cañon City. That leaves Pueblo County (6-4 S-CL), and Cañon City, Pueblo South and Pueblo East (all 5-4) fighting for the final two spots.

Pueblo County holds the tiebreaker on Cañon City with one game between the two coming up. Cañon City beat Pueblo East in the teams' only meeting so far, and Pueblo South and Cañon City split their two-game series.

There will either be four, five or six at-large spots available for teams around the state that didn't qualify by finishing in the predetermined spots in their leagues.

The Tigers will play Thursday at Pueblo Central, then will host Pueblo County on Monday in a game that will likely decide the Tigers' playoff hopes.

Cañon City hosts South with huge ramifications

The Tigers will benefit big time if they can do something no other South-Central League team has done this season.

South's only losses this season were to Nos. 2 and 7 Cheyenne Mountain and Lewis-Palmer and Class 5A Lakewood.

The South-Central League's top two teams get spots in the playoffs — Pueblo's South and Pueblo West have claimed those. That leaves Cañon City and Pueblo Centennial fighting for the league's fourth spot, with Pueblo County having a slight chance to sneak in the back door. That spot might be awarded one of eight at-large bids. A committee will select those based off of, in no particular order, MaxPreps.com ranking, league poll, head-to-head competition and common opponents.

The way it shakes out now, Cañon City has 15 points with two matches left, and Pueblo Centennial 17 with one match left. Wins are worth three and ties worth one. If Centennial beats Pueblo County on Thursday — the Bulldogs won the first meeting 3-0 — then Cañon City must beat South on Tuesday and Pueblo East on Thursday.

If Centennial and County tie, then the Tigers can force the tiebreaker to go to another level by beating East again and losing to South again. That next level will lead to Centennial getting the third spot.

So basically, the Tigers need the Hornets to lose their match Tuesday against Pueblo West and win their match on Thursday against Centennial. If that happens, and the Tigers at least beat Pueblo East, they'll get the third spot and have a chance to get an at-large bid. It's possible the fourth spot could get an at-large spot, but highly unlikely.

It's worth noting that even South's 11-3 record didn't get them a single vote in the latest Denver Post coaches poll. It shows the lack of respect that the state has for the S-CL.

Huskies need win for shot at playoffs

The Florence Huskies soccer team will play its final regular-season game at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Whether or not it'll be the last game for the team is still uncertain.

A non-league win against Salida (5-6) Tuesday would move the Huskies to 10-4-1 overall, which might be a compelling enough reason for the Huskies to be selected for one of six at-large bids. The top two Region 2 teams, The Classical Academy and Manitou Springs, received the league's automatic bids. Florence finished tied with Buena Vista and Salida for the third spot, a position that would get an automatic bid had Pikes Peaks Christian not dropped for the league.

“I don't think (a win) will guarantee us a spot, but it will put us in a good position with our record and strength of schedule,” Huskies coach Bill Vinelli said after his team's match on Saturday. “If we lose, the chances would be very slim. We have to take care of our own business and win the game on Tuesday.”

Sports Editor Brandon Hopper can be reached at 276-7644 or facebook.com/CCDRsports.

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